do i need a magnaclean and electronic water softeners?

ds1980

Ok so after some help on here we are opting for a vaillant 837 combi.

Been reading and people mention the magnaclean but i don't think we need one. Its going to be a brand new boiler and pipework so thought that by making sure something lie this goes in then we shouldn't have too much of a problem.

http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/EXTEND_THE_LIFE_OF_YOUR_BOILER_1.html

does anyone want to put me off?

Should this be put through once a year when servicing?

also thought that we might buy one of these or similar?

http://www.waterimp.co.uk/solution.html

more thoughts

adaze

If you are getting a new boiler fitted it will be drained down so fitting a magnaclean would be cheaper/ easier. I don't have one, but it will prolong the life of your boiler/ pipework, so it might be worth it, depends on how much you are quoted, and (if not slightly wrong) also how long you plan to live there for...

I would be interested to see if the waterimp or similar products actually work as I've been considering one, we live in Kent and the water is pretty hard down here. Is £100 cheap or expensive

Canucklehead

Good morning: Contact Vaillant and ask these questions for the definitive answers.The OH uses Fernox or Sentinel chemicals in his Vaillant installations as well as a scale inhibitor as recommended for hard water areas (we are in Kent), powerflushes and fits a Boiler Buddy. Are you replacing your entire CH system including the radiators?

HTH

Canucklehead

ds1980

everything is being replaced including rads. that's why i thought thath if it's ne wthen as long as i have an inhibitor in the system this shouldn't need a magnaclean should it?

have already drained system and taken out old pipework and boiler etc myself.

was v old but there wasn't huge amount of !!!!!, ive seen worse.

ds1980

adaze wrote: »

If you are getting a new boiler fitted it will be drained down so fitting a magnaclean would be cheaper/ easier. I don't have one, but it will prolong the life of your boiler/ pipework, so it might be worth it, depends on how much you are quoted, and (if not slightly wrong) also how long you plan to live there for...

I would be interested to see if the waterimp or similar products actually work as I've been considering one, we live in Kent and the water is pretty hard down here. Is £100 cheap or expensive

not sure my parents had one fitted by BG and theyve had no problems. The science seems to make sense and there is literature on the subject but whether it works or not is probably up for debate still

Canucklehead

ds1980 wrote: »

everything is being replaced including rads. that's why i thought thath if it's ne wthen as long as i have an inhibitor in the system this shouldn't need a magnaclean should it?

have already drained system and taken out old pipework and boiler etc myself.

was v old but there wasn't huge amount of !!!!!, ive seen worse.

Hi... fitting a Magnaclean/Boiler Buddy gives the system added protection at minimal cost, especially compared to the price of the rest of the CH system....moneysaving in the long run?

You're welcome. Let us know how you get on.

Canucklehead

andrew-b

Corrosion in the system is an ongoing thing...it doesn't stop when you've cleaned the system out . The cleaner itself can actually accelerate corrosion if it's not flushed out after. Air in the system leads to corrosion too. There is also "galvanic corrosion". Have a read here. Worth reading the other technical documents too.

With our boiler change we only wanted a chemical flush and didn't have a magnaclean (or similar) fitted. I'm now intending to get one fitted as i've since found sludge in the system.

May also get a scale inhibitor for the whole house (if i do i was going to get a Salamander SESI £40 from Screwfix - 6% off before VAT through quidco and there is usually a 10% screwfix voucher code kicking around too - received one just now valid until 4th November CZ481425 requires £50 spend though)

Andy

ds1980

is that like the elctronic thing i saw?

thanks,

ds1980

sorry new i found something on it that had my doubts on (posted by engineer on another site)

I just find them a cure to the symptoms but not a cure to the real fault. The magna clean does not pickup everything and regular mainataince is required where as a proper chemical flush will solve the problem without need for further mainatance.

thoughts

andrew-b

Doesn't need to be sparkly clean inside the system though..just so long as water flow is maintained and sludge doesn't start to build up. You still need to add inhibitor (note it's named inhibitor and not preventer) and still need to clean out the system first. The idea of the magnaclean is more to protect your boiler from particles that will build up over time. The boiler contains the narrowest pipework of the system (around a millimetre or so in the heat exchanger on new boilers) and is the most expensive part. Yes it is a cure but it appear to be a very effective one (i've not found a bad word against them in my research)! You can also use it for a "DIY powerflush" see http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/central_heating_flushing.htm

Regular maintenance means: turn off the heating system, turn off the valves either side of magnaclean...undo the body of the magnaclean and clean out. For an average cleaned out system it's designed to collect a year worth of gunk (iron oxide) so the maintenance should be done once a year at time of service (if your getting a new boiler you should have it serviced every year - warranty for second and third years won't be valid if you don't get it serviced). See http://www.adeysolutions.co.uk/Professional.asp

A new boiler costs a couple of grand for supply and fit, a magnaclean £100 to buy plus less than an hour to fit (even less if the system is already drained down as part of the boiler change). I didn't want to spend out on a magnaclean and can't really afford it but i definitely can't afford a new boiler if the heat exchanger gets written off.

The new Magnaclean Twintech has a gauze filter too which picks up non-magnetic particles passing through... http://www.adeysolutions.co.uk/TwinTech.asp - that's the one i'm after getting.

At the end of the day it's upto you but my advice would be to spend the extra now rather than face the hassle in years to come!

Andy